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Monday, January 23, 2012

Center Organization

I just saw that Lesson Plan Diva was hosting a linky party on center organization, and I just had to join in! I apologize in advance, but I'm going to have to reuse a lot of my old pictures, because I let my camera at school, so I don't have any of my new pictures.

I store all of my centers in 3-ring binders-the really, really, really big ones and keep my materials in insertable page dividers. I organize the activities by subject and by unit within the subject, and I've found that this is a really easy way for me to keep organized.

I also keep all of my task cards in Ziploc baggies, so they store nicely in the dividers.

I'm pretty selective on the centers/station activities that I actually have out and available to my students. There are always a handful of activities for our current topic, as well as a few review activities from different units, but I don't like to have too much out at a time. I organize these into different tubs that I bought from Really Good Stuff. The were pricy but worth every penny. I LOVE being able to stack things neatly!

Sorry about the picture! It was taken while I was still setting up at the beginning of the year. The tubs that I love are on the top shelf, and the ones on the bottom-not so much, but I'm trying to curb my spending. I number my math tubs (thanks Debbie Diller), which makes them very interchangeable, so when I want to change station activities, I don't have to relabel everything.

Inside my station tubs is everything my students need to complete the station(s). I like to include sleeves for recording sheets to save on paper and copies, so I have included wipes and dry erase markers in any storage tub that has a recording sheet.

I store everything that is currently in use in my tubs, so all of station 1 activities are kept in the station 1 tub. My students don't have access to the binders. The binders are for the activities that are not currently in use.

Hi!My name is Heather and I work for Worth Ave. Group. We’re currently holding a contest for K-12 teachers to win grants for their schools, and iPads or iPods for their classrooms. If you’re interested in participating or nominating a teacher, feel free to email me or visit the link I’ve posted below.Have a great day!http://www.worthavegroup.com/giveaway/voteforteachers@worthavegroup.com